Well, That Was Fast: Microsoft Kills Kin Phones

The sales of Microsoft's Kin phones must have been nearly as bad as the faux-hip commercials for it. A mere two months after unveiling the product, the company has decided to stop working on the phone, targeted at avid social-networking teenagers, to focus on Windows Phone 7 instead.

"We have made the decision to focus exclusively on Windows Phone 7 and we will not ship KIN in Europe this fall as planned. Additionally, we are integrating our KIN team with the Windows Phone 7 team, incorporating valuable ideas and technologies from KIN into future Windows Phone releases. We will continue to work with Verizon in the U.S. to sell current KIN phones."

Despite a massive ad campaign supporting the Kin's launch with TV, Web, print and radio spots, the Kin must have done quite poorly to get the axe so quickly. Signs of trouble had already cropped up over the weekend when exclusive carrier Verizon cut the price of the phones by nearly 50%.

What's unclear is how much more support Microsoft will give U.S. users who purchased the phone.